This is National Sun Awareness Week . Forget for a moment that it’s raining outside right now. Warm weather is expected to make an appearance later this week. And as Canadian’s get ready to soak in the sun, many aren’t aware of the harms of not protecting themselves properly. I have the bright red back from Sunday’s gardening session to prove it.

In North America, one person dies from melanoma every hour and 1 in 7 Canadians will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. My Skin Check, is here to empower Canadians to educate themselves on the importance of self-examination and safe sun habits. My Skin Check helps Canadian’s become aware of what can be done to prevent skin cancer, to help them locate any suspect moles and to encourage consultation with a dermatologist. Individuals can log on to the website and evaluate their personal sun risk, use the interactive CDA-recognized* mole checker to monitor developments of their beauty marks, and get helpful tips on how to behave responsibly in the sun.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the “X” in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.